On Butterfly Wings
by Mad Cow
Summary: In a very different future, a band of relocated Animorphs find out they are not as alone as they think (Rating is due to some harsh cursing)
1. Foreward, Chapters 1 though 3

Foreward

   Hi, I'm Mad Cow. The author of this story. I don't know how many of your are writers, but those of you who are probably know about how annoying a story can be when it grabs hold of you, but this is a perfect example. 

   You see, I haven't written a story for Animorphs since January 2002 (And that was the first one I'd written since November 2000). I kind of gave it up, if you will. Moved on, I suppose. I wrote fan fiction for a Disney show called _In a Heartbeat_ for awhile, then moved on to original stuff. I'll be going off to college soon, etc, and I'm going to major in creative writing. I suppose you could say Animorphs is where I got my love for writing.

   I've had this particular story in mind since I was in 6th grade. I'm in 12th now, so it's been awhile. And when I left Animorphs, it didn't leave me. It's still here, stealing enthusiasm away from all of my serious projects. So, I decided, as kind of a tribute to both Animorphs and my years writing for Animorphs, I would finally commit this to paper. 

   All four of my original characters have evolved seriously though the years. I hope they sound maturely written and well-supported. They've changed enough times and been through enough dumb ideas (for example, for a very short time, I tried writing Raven as having no legs…) that I hope I've worked out all of the dumb things.

   Please, if you are extremely confused, I want to know. I tried to give the readers some credit for figuring out things on their own, but I realize that no one knows these characters as well as me, and that things that have been developing in my mind for six years sound perfectly sensible to me, while I may have left out important details that would help you understand

   Although, I will have you know that you're _supposed_ to be confused by Nathaniel. Trust me, if you have figured it out by the end of this installment, kudos to you, but really, you're not supposed to know until Nathaniel wants you to know. Sometimes I think that he's really running the show, and not me.

   Anyway, now you know why I'm doing this, after being gone for so long. I appreciate all comments, and I hope to use your advice to write the next part. Without further ado, enjoy!

-Mad Cow

P.S.: This is a non-cannon story. Something happened around book 40 that made this universe turn out very differently from our storyline (and hopefully, if I ever finish, you will find out what happened differently. But that information comes later.)

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1- Katie

    My name is Katie. Katherine, really, but I think it's far too formal. Evan calls me Kat because he likes the play on words, and I let him, because he's my best friend, but I think it makes me sound too much like a cheesy superhero, so I don't usually introduce myself that way.

   I can't tell you my last name. For the sake of the story, it's Eisenhower, but there are no guarantees Eisenhower is the real thing.

   If I had been born a few years earlier, like my brother, my last name would have been Berensen, but those were different times. Different, and yet still the same.

   We, the Animorphs, are still hunted. It's worse, now that the Yeerks know we're human. Worse that one of our own is in Yeerk hands. Rachel was infested by the foul creature known as Council Member 12 in 2010, and we've never really recovered.

   The night of her infestation, the Yeerks attacked my parents and their friends at their homes. The Chee came to the rescue, taking them to a secured place, and helping them create new identities. Tobias, and his infant daughter, Loren, never arrived. 

   Dad told me once he thinks that the Chee did for Tobias what they did for us, but just at a different location. He thinks Tobias doesn't want us to find him, so we don't really search. All we know is that Tobias wasn't taken. If he had been, the Yeerks would have gloated about it, at least.

   There has been one more casualty in our little band. My brother, Thomas, older than me by about three years, but younger than Raven by exactly two months, died when he was five, hit by a passing car. I'd like to say I remember him, but I really don't. 

   So, including the four we have lost, we should be 10 Animorphs strong. But we're not. The Animorphs, now myself, my parents, my best friend Evan and his dad Marco, and the Andalite known as Ax who has spent more time among us than his own people, are no stronger than they were when my parents were young. 

   The sad news is that the Yeerks have gotten stronger. They've spread, beyond just California, and now have Yeerk Pools in 23 major cities, spread out over 14 states. And even worse, there are now three morph-capable controllers: Council Member 12, Visser One (formerly known as Visser Three), and Sub-Visser 16. Quite honestly, we have no idea who Sub-Visser 16's host body is. He's a boy, a little older looking than myself, but younger than Thomas would have been. We don't know how he got the ability to morph, or who he is, but he's terribly good at it. Faster even than my mom, who is without a doubt the best of all of us.

   So we have to be careful. Which is why, despite my protests, I found myself in my dad's car on the way to school. 

   "Why can't I just fly, Dad?" I asked at a stoplight. It was a daily conversation we had as he took me to school on his way to work at the high school. Anything to keep him from putting in one of his CDs from the 90s. 

   "Because Cooper's Hawk carrying a backpack is slightly suspicious," he said, turning to me. "And besides, when you get to school, you won't have shoes."

   He's pretty cool, as far as dads go, but I still hate it when he's right. I didn't answer. He smiled as the light turned green, and we headed on.

   "Could you at least drop me off a few blocks away?" I asked.  

   "No, that goes against the Dad Code," he replied. "I don't see why you're so embarrassed to be seen with me. Every other eight grader is driven to school y their parents, too."

   "No, they don't live out in the country, so they get to ride the bus."

   "You'd rather get to ride the bus than live on the farm?"

   "I'm just saying," I replied.

   We pulled up at the school. As I started to walk away from the car, he stuck his head out the window. "Bye Katie!" he called, in front of what felt like the entire student body. "I love you!"

   Remember what I said about him being cool? Forget it. My Dad is so lame.

2- Raven

   I sat at the kitchen table, eating some bargain bag Wheaties knock-off when I heard my father's alarm go off. A few minutes later, it was still going. Cursing under my breath, I walked into the living room.

   "Tobias!" I said sharply. He sat up on the cot he sleeps on. "Work!" I threw his clothes at him. "I washed them for you." I looked at my watch. "You have 42 minutes left before your shift starts at the gas station. You need to leave the house in 27 minutes. And you need to shower and eat before you go, so get up!"

   A school shrink once said that Tobias and I have "reversed parent-child relationship", and suggested that I be removed from his care so that I could "grow up in a more healthy environment." This was shortly before I suggested that her head be removed from the care of her neck. She suggested to CPS that there might be some drugs involved. They came to the apartment and looked for drugs, but didn't find anything. I know Tobias doesn't take anything but Prozac (prescribed, thank you), because I balance the checkbook. I told them that, but they didn't believe me until they had searched the place. Anyway, they found nothing, and I got to stay. I've stayed away from shrinks ever since.

   I heard the shower running, and assumed he was taking one. He could be just running the water and just sitting there on the floor, but honestly, he is a grown man, and there are just some things I can't do for him.

   I finished my Wheat-os and put the bowl in the dishwasher. It was full, so I went ahead and ran it. I left the Wheat-os box on the counter, and knocked on the bathroom door. "Tobias, I'm going to school now. Remember to go to work!" 

   With that, I left the apartment, and jogged through the streets quickly. We live on what you might call the wrong side of the tracks, and so I usually tried not to linger too long. I always carry a knife (that you can be sure the school doesn't know about) and wouldn't mind fighting anyone who crosses my path. Most of the guys around know than I will beat the crap out of them if they mess with me, but there was always the chance I might stumble into some really serious shit going down. I just can't fight a bunch of guys with guns, especially if there's drugs involved.

   I arrived at the school, and slid into my seat just as the tardy bell rang. My first block teacher, Eisenhower, raised an eyebrow. He hates me, I know it. Wrote "has a problem with authority" once on my report card. Fuck that. I am my own authority, and he's the one that has a problem with it.

   Just then, a guy walked into the room. There was something…familiar about him. Yet, watching him walk his way to Eisenhower's podium, I couldn't remember meeting him anywhere. I would think I'd remember meeting someone so badass. He was tall, over six feet, with muscles that rippled under his mahogany skin.

   At first I thought maybe he was someone that lived in my neighborhood, that I'd seen beating up old ladies or something, but no, it went deeper than that. I _knew_ him. I don't believe in love or any of that New Age crap, but there was just something about him that touched part of my soul. His name was almost there on the tip of my tongue…

   "Class, this is Nathaniel. He just moved here from-" Eisenhower looked at Nathaniel for a cue.

   "El Paso," he said, and locked eyes with me. Ooh, shivers.

   "Nathaniel, take an empty seat anywhere, and welcome to our U. S. History class."

   He took a seat right behind me. "Hi," I head him whisper to my neck. 

   I turned around. "Hi."

   "I'm Nathaniel."

   "I already got that. I'm Raven."

   "Raven, Nathaniel, please," said Eisenhower. "You may not be interested in the New Deal, but I am sure the rest of the class doesn't want you to spoil their knowledge." Dickwad.

   I rolled my eyes and turned back around. I endured an agonizing period of listening to information on the Great Depression, before the bell rang. I stood up and began to walk out, and Nathaniel quickly followed.

   "Hey," he said. "What lunch do you have?"

   "B," I replied.

   "I have…" he squinted at his schedule. "I don't know, really."

   I took it from him. "B, too," I said, interpreting. 

  "So will I see you at lunch?" he asked.

   "Sure," I replied, shrugging. "But if you're looking for a fast track to the in-crowd, I'm not it."

   "I don't mind."

3- Nathaniel

   I finally found Raven in the lunch crowd. She was sitting alone, and I went to join her. I wasn't falling in love with her, I knew that for sure. But there was just something about her that drew me in. I planned on sticking around until I figured it out.

   I sat down and opened up my salad. I groaned, and she looked up at me. "What," she asked. "Does it still have a pulse like my hamburger?"

   "No," I said. "An egg. They put an egg on my salad."

   "You allergic?"

   "Vegan." She gawked at me like most people when they find out I'm vegan.

   "I'm sorry, did you just say vegan, as in, no meat?" 

    "Or any kind of animal byproducts." I sighed. "Look, I work out and I eat a lot of soy. It's the wonder food, really."

   "You look like you could bench press my apartment complex and you don't eat meat?"

   "I take protein supplements, too." I looked back down on my salad. "But I am not eating an egg, but if I don't, then a poor chicken will have had it's wings and beak cut off and been factory farmed for nothin-"

   "For goodness sake," she said, taking the egg off my plate. "I'll eat the fucking egg. Geez." She popped it in her mouth. I looked down at my salad.

   "So, you're from El Paso?" I asked. 

   "Sort of. Originally, California. But my parents died shortly after moving to the state, and I don't have any relatives," I said, "so I'm in foster care. Shuffled from city to city and stuff."

   "I'm sorry," she said.

   I shrugged. "I'll be 18 soon." I left it at that. "And what about you?" I asked.

   "My mom died when I was real little, so I just live with my dad," she said. "He's crazy."

   "Oh?"

   "Not like eccentric. Tobias is seriously crazy. All depressed and shit. He couldn't take care of himself if I wasn't there to do everything. And," she said lowering her voice, "he sometimes thinks he's a red-tailed hawk. And he's totally into alien conspiracies. Not Star Trek or anything, but sometimes he talks about these weird slug-like aliens. He only tells me, because he's afraid if he tells anyone else, they'll find him. "

   I choked on my salad. Her father's name was Tobias and he thought he was a red-tailed hawk? 

   "What?" asked Raven.

   "Went down the wrong pipe," I said, lying as usual.

   "Anyway, you can't tell anyone that. CPS already has me in their files, and if anyone caught wind of how he really is, he'd get locked up and I'd be taken away for sure. If that happens, I'd probably be locked up too, because I would kill the fuckwads who did it."

   I wasn't sure it that was a threat or a confession.

   "So…" I said, trying to be conversational. "Raven is an interesting name. Is it your real one? I mean, is it your middle name or anything?"

   "My real first name is Raven. My middle name's Lauren, though."

   Lauren. Sounded enough like Loren. Could she really be the long-lost daughter of Rachel? The attitude fit. I'd have to ask the Chee. In the meantime, I continued to work on the salad.

   After school was over, I walked back to Mr. Eisenhower's room. "Sir?" I asked from the doorway.

   He stared at me for a moment. Trying to remember my name, I guess. Finally, he said, "Nathaniel, what can I do for you?"

   "I talked to your wife on the phone," I said. "I'm the one that's going to come help out at her wildlife rehabilitation clinic after school."

   He thought for a moment. "Oh, right. Cassie did tell me she needed me to drive someone home for her."

   "That's me."

   "Let me gather up my things, and then we'll go."

   All was going according to plan.

Please Review!!!

KleenexCow@hotmail.com


	2. Chapters 4 and 5

Thanks to the three of you who reviewed. Anyone else reading: REVIEW!!

And I fully retract any statements asking you to tell me if you're confused. If you're not confused at least a little by Tobias' chapter, well, then you're more intelligent than I am, because it confuses the heck out of me! ;)

Chapter 4-Cassie

   "So," I said, dusting my hands off on my overalls. "That's the barn. You said at the last place you volunteered at, you learned the basics of animal care?" I asked.

   "How to feed the animals and clean out the cages, yes," Nathaniel grinned, his teeth very white against his dark skin only a few shades lighter than mine. "They wouldn't let me give medicine or deal with injuries, since I'm only 17."

   "So I just have you to do grunt work," I said.

   "Basically," he replied. "I'd like to learn more, but I understand if you don't want to run the risk of being sued."

   "Well, I'll see how you do with grunt work. Maybe I can teach you some things, under supervision," I said, and looked at my watch. "It's six. Will your parents be expecting you soon, or would you like to stay for dinner?"

   "My guardians don't seem to be the type to mind much if I'm late. I would love to stay for dinner."

   I felt a wave of sympathy for the boy. I could tell that I liked him, already, and the thought that he didn't really have a home only deepened my instincts to mother him. "Well, come on then. I think my husband said he was cooking tonight."

   "Thanks, Mrs. Eis-"

   "Cassie, please," I responded.

   And so, Nathaniel began to make his way into our family. As the four of us sat there in silence, my daughter cleared her throat. "So, do you know anything about your parents?" Katie asked, ever without tact.

   He closed his eyes briefly. "I know my mother was black, and my father white, much like yours," he said, looking at Katie. "I know where they went to school, and what they majored in, and things like that, but statistics don't account for much. I would have liked to get to know them, and I wish I could remember for myself what they were like."

   His eyes were on me then, full and hazel, and something flickered upon his face. At the time I took it for longing. But I couldn't help thinking of my own son, Thomas, taken from me by a curse of the blue box. I did the math in my head. He was about the same age as Thomas, and looking at him opened up fresh wounds, and the question that buzzed in my head since that terrible day I discovered he couldn't stay with me: _when will I see you again, my son?_

   Nathaniel left after the meal. I asked him if he wanted a ride, but he said he needed the exercise, and didn't live to far away. But as I stood on the stoop after he disappeared into darkness, I could have sworn I heard wings.

Chapter 5- Tobias

   "Are you almost ready?" I asked Rachel as she brushed her teeth. "We're going to be late!"

   She walked out of the bathroom and kissed me softly, tasting of fluoride and mint. The corners of her lips turned up in the slightest, most mischievous of smiles. "Jake wouldn't mind if we're slightly late to one meeting."

   I slid one hand around her waist, and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "We've been slightly late to every meeting since Jake and Cassie moved in together."

   She pulled me closer, and mint filled my nose entirely. "It's all their fault for getting themselves engaged and politely kicking me out. Cassie never distracted me as much as you do, when she and I shared an apartment."

   "I would hope not," I said, brushing my lips on hers before pulling away and beginning to demorph. "Now let's g-" I said, stopping abruptly as a beak appeared on my face.

   She began her morph to eagle, graceful human features giving way to the powerful, but no less graceful form of an eagle. Wings had just begun to appear from arms when-

   "Arrrrrrreeeeeeeehhhhhh!" she yelled in a horrifying yell that was equally human and eagle.

   Rachel! I called, beginning to morph to human as quickly as I could. Morph out! 

   She was paler than usual when she finally demorphed. "That was like no pain I've ever felt before," she said, resting her hands on her abdomen protectively. 

   She tried again, with the same results.

   "We'll take the car, " I assured her.

   Needless to say, we were very late. We all still met in Ax's scoop, because we figure that no one's apartment was completely safe, what with people living on all sides. We couldn't drive to Cassie's farm and park there, because her parents would be suspicious as to why we were tramping around in their woods, so we had to drive to the state park parking lot, and hike all the way out to the scoop. 

   When we arrived, over an hour late, Marco smirked. "Too busy to come to a meeting?" he asked. I ignored the innuendo.

   "We were worried sick," said Jake pointedly. "You cannot arrive late to meetings without good reason."

   "We had one," said Rachel bristling. Then she quieted, realizing that to tell why would reveal that she felt normal human sensations like, say, pain.

   "And?" said Cassie, waiting.

   Rachel looked at me. "Rachel can't morph," I explained.

   "What?" asked the others in semi-unison.

   She sighed. "I mean, I can, but I can only get half way. And then, there's this pain. It's worse than anything I've ever felt. I can barely concentrate hard enough to morph out."

   "A Yeerk weapon?" asked Jake, looking at Ax.

   Where is the pain? asked Ax, focusing on Rachel.

   She placed her hands on her stomach. "It stabs me right here."

   Based on my knowledge of human anatomy and Andalite science, I do not believe this problem is due to the Yeerks. I believe the cause of this problem is easily found. Rachel, he began, in the last 60 to 48 hours or so, have you and Tobias… he paused, thinking for a second participated in the human mating ritual the humans on _The Young and the Restless_ participate in often? 

   Everyone was silent for a second. "Here on Earth, we like to call that sex," said Marco, breaking the silence.

   I felt a blush rising from my neck. "Yes," Rachel said simply.

   Then Rachel is with child. 

   I nearly choked on my own tongue. "Excuse me?" I asked.

   The pain is a safety device, so to speak. If an Andalite female is with child, and she morphs more than 48 hours after conception, then the child would not live though the trauma. The morphing technology is designed to let any pregnant female know that she is in danger of harming her child. 

   "Well," said Jake. "The meeting wasn't actually about anything too important. And I don't think we'll be able to get anything done after that little piece of information."

   "Tobias," I head someone say, and looked around. No one had spoken. "Tobias!"

   I shook my head and blinked. I found myself in a dingy kitchen, not in the forest any longer. "Tobias, you drifted off again." The voice belonged to Raven, my daughter. I had been lost in a daydream. Had it really happened that way? I couldn't remember.

   The worst part of the daydreams wasn't the way Raven looked at me. It was waking up and having to realize Rachel was gone all over again, each time. I wished I could be lost in them forever, that I could relive my life from the day Elfangor gave us the power up until the horrible night I lost her, and never wake up. Even the worst times then were better than the best times now.

   I almost ended my life once. But…Raven. She was all I had left of the only person to truly care for me. She was my anchor.

    "The first time I kissed your mother was in 1934," I said.

    "You were born in 1985, Tobias," said Raven, not even looking up from her dinner of ramen noodles.

   "I know. We used a time machine. We couldn't stop Jake or Washington from dying, but then she came back to life after she died at Trafalgar, and I was so happy to see her that I kissed her in front of the racists."

   "That's great," she said unenthusiastically. She didn't mean it.

   I looked down at my noodles, confused. "It's cold. Where's the rat meat?"

   "We're not _that_ poor."

   "I need the rat. Need to feel it squirming beneath my talons, need to feel the pressure until the skin gives way and I can tear the meat off in hot steaming chunks. Like peaches, warm peaches, beating with a heartbeat filled with fear…"

   "Uh huh," she said, barely breaking stride. "Tobias, let me take your bowl from you." She reached forward to take the bowl, and I pushed my chair back suddenly, screeching and flapping my wings, startled from her movement. But my wings didn't work, and I fell out of my chair. My body slammed into the cool tile, and the hawk that lived inside my head screamed as it always did, unable to understand why it's wings no longer worked. 

   The hawk, me, we needed the sky. We yearned for it as we yearned for Rachel.

   And both were forever beyond us.


	3. Chapters 6 through 9

A note to all of you who read the second part before I edited it: the whole governor mission is scrapped as a story plot. Sorry. I thought of a better mission as I was writing chapter 7 that makes a lot more sense to my story. I just deleted the meeting bits from chapter 4, and it ends with Cassie watching Nathaniel walking away. I recycled all of the informative bits about Evan and stuff into chapter 7, so you might recognize some of it. Again, sorry. This is what I get for brainstorming as I write.

Ooh, but in a fit of preparation, I have already found Raven a battle morph. I'm really excited about it. It is definitely a morph Rachel would approve of, and I don't think I've ever seen it done in a fic before, but it is _so_ cool.

What is it? Like I'm gonna tell you. You have to keep reading! All I will say is that it totally _owns_. She'll probably acquire it in the next few installments or so, so keep reading and reviewing!

Chapter 6-Raven

   I smiled my best smile at the customer. "Have a nice day," I said with all the forced enthusiasm I could muster. I hated working at the Gap. Hated it with a passion, but I knew Tobias and I needed the extra income. Him working at a gas station didn't exactly cover all the bills.

   Besides, I had been working long enough to gain myself a title and prestige of a manager, and I had enough of an employee discount so that I could afford Gap clothes, and not the hand-me-downs from Goodwill that had been the uniform of my childhood.

   Seeing as it was a Tuesday night, there was no one else in the line. I made my way over to a shirt rack and began folding some shirts an earlier customer had left untidy.

    And then he walked in, all faded jeans and a t-shirt. "Nathaniel," I said huffily, "the slightly disheveled look has been out since 2019."

    "I'm sorry, fashion mistress," he replied, smiling. "I'll do better next time. Is your shift almost over?"

   "In ten minutes." I indicated to my left with my head. "Come on. Pretend you're a customer. That way, we can talk and you can still get yourself some real clothes."

   "And what are these?" he asked. "Imaginary clothes?"

   "Exactly. You are not wearing any clothes."

   "I feel so naked."

   "Anyway," I said, steering him over to the pants. "These khakis would look nice on you. Nice blend of fabrics with a nice seam and cut, pre-shrunk and on sale for 30% off! How can you resist that??" 

   "Do you get commission, or do you really just want me to shop that bad?" Nathaniel asked, slightly amused.

   "No commission. Now come on. Just try on the pants. That's all I'm asking."

   "Do I have to sign the devil's black book, too?"

   We finished out the end of my shift that way. And he never did buy those pants.

   Spared from work, we walked out to my car, a clunker I affectionately called "the Beast". It was made in 2008, and I bought for $150 from a guy who was convinced he was ripping me off. But it hasn't broken down on me once since I bought it. I swear that old Suburban just needed a little bit of love. I didn't drive it to school, since school was within running distance and I didn't want to waste gas, but the Gap was too far, so the Beast was my chariot.

   "Look," I said as we drove, "just remember that Tobias is fucking crazy. So just dismiss anything he says."

   I was taking Nathaniel for dinner at my house. He had a reprieve from Eisenhower's Farm House of Horrors (as I liked to call it, even though Nathaniel thought that it was rude) for the evening, so I decided I'd let him meet Tobias, and see how he felt about being my friend after that. I wasn't getting my hopes up, but I figured it was better if I found out he thought my living situation was too weird to put up with after only 4 days, rather than several months.

   We arrived at the apartment, and walked up the stairs, past the homes of my fellow dirt-poor neighbors. I turned my key in the door, and saw Tobias sitting on the couch, flipping randomly though television channels.

   "Hello, Tobias," I said, dropping my keys on the end table.

   "Hello, Raven," he said. I was surprised he responded, having dismissed him as lost in one of his little visions. "Hello, Thomas." Oook, so maybe he _was_ in a vision.

   I looked back at Nathaniel. "Tobias, this is my friend Nathaniel."

   He stared at me with his strangely expressionless eyes. "I know. Thomas and I have met before."

   "Don't worry," I said under my breath to Nathaniel. "Sometimes he thinks I'm my mother. He doesn't have the best grip on the present." 

   Something weird flickered across Nathaniel's face then, and I dismissed it.

   "It really is nice to see you again, Thomas. I remember when you and Raven were little. Sometimes the only way we could get Raven to stop crying was to have Jake bring you over. More than once when I called I got the busy signal, because they were trying to call us for the exact same reason. Very strange babies, you two were. By the way, tell your father I hope he rots in hell."

   Fuck, this was not going well.

   "Whatever, Tobias. Look, I'm going to cook up some ramen for dinner. You want some?"

   There was no response.

   "Does he do this often?" asked Nathaniel.

   "You mean alternating spouting complete crap and then blanking out to bizarre-o land? Yeah, that's pretty much all he does," I said. "You're just lucky that he didn't do the whole hawk wig-out thing. But anyway, he'll be completely gone for a while. He won't comprehend a thing we say until he wakes up."

   "So it's just you and me, huh?" he asked, smiling slightly.

   "Yeah, well, I trust your homosexual ass not to put the moves on me, so it's OK."

   He nearly choked on his tongue. I love fucking with him. "Excuse me?"

   "You are so gay. I can tell."

   "How?"

   "You're vegan and I can totally tell you're into yoga and freeing Tibet and all that shit. Plus, you just are. I just know."

   "You really shouldn't stereotype," he said.

   "But I'm right."

   He sighed. "Yeah, you are."

   "Do your foster 'rents know?" I asked.

   "No. Not that they're the type to care if they did, but I've never had anyone suspect I'm gay before. I thought I was definitely not a stereotype."

   I squinted at him. "No, I guess you don't really look like one. Your lack of fashion sense is totally embarrassing. But you just can't hide stuff like that from me. I know things, 'cause I'm your best friend."

   He paused for a second. "Yeah, I guess you are. We've only known each other for a couple of days, but it feels right to think of you as my best friend."

   "Fucking creepy," I said.

   "Yeah," he agreed. "By the way, I've never done yoga in my life."

   "But you want to free Tibet, don't you?"

   He looked almost sheepish. "Maybe a little," he admitted.

Chapter 7-Jake

   The phone rang late in the evening, after dinner. I picked it up, and held it to my ear. "Hello?" I asked

   "Jake, it's Erek King."

   I was surprised. We hadn't heard from Erek in years. The Yeerks now knew of the Chee's existence, so it made it harder for them to pump us information.  "Erek. How are you?" It was strange, small talking with a creature older than human civilization.

   "I'm well. We managed to find a piece of information that you might find very interesting."

  "Oh?" I asked into the phone.

   "Councilor 12 has scheduled a visit to Earth," he stated.

   "Rachel's Yeerk?" I asked, my voice shaking.

   "The very same. But not in your part of the country. Not even in your country, actually. He will be overseeing the installment of a new Yeerk pool in Toronto. I would suspect you would be interested in making an appearance."

   "I think we just might. What do you know?"

   "All we can find out is that it's in exactly three months time."

   "We thank you for even that," I said.

   "And we would like to remind you to be careful. The guards that guard a Councilor are extremely elite. The Blue Bands look like amateurs in comparison. They are the best the empire has to offer. And even if you get though the guards, there is still the consideration that the Councilor is also morph-capable."

   "We'll remember," I said, and then paused. "And…how is Thomas?" I asked slowly.

   "Very well," replied Erek. That he said it so calmly irritated me.

   "Why has it taken so long?" I asked. "You were supposed to only keep him for a few years, but it's been 12."

   "We Chee feel like you have taken advantage of our technology to cause violence many times. We thought it was only fair if we used your situation to sow the seeds of peace."

    "What does that mean?"

    "You will find out soon enough. In fact, you might be pleased to know he will be returning to you soon. I will give you more information later, but for now, it might be wise for you and Cassie to mention you are thinking of adoption."

   "I'll remember that. Thanks, Erek."

   "Any time."

   I called up Marco, and Ax, and then went in search of Cassie. "We need a meeting. Erek just called me with some very important information," I said. "I've already contacted the others."

   Marco, Evan, and Ax arrived soon later. Marco lived just a few streets away, in a little house he shared with Evan, his son who was a little younger than Katie. Marco had been married briefly, to a woman neither Cassie nor I had approved of much. After Evan had been born, we discovered she was a controller. Did she ever figure out what Marco really was? No one knows. She was killed by friendly fire from a Hork-Bajir when Evan was only two months old.

  Marco is not very inclined to trusting people anymore, beyond the five of us. His paranoia has increased considerably.

   We've all lost the people we once were, fighting this war for almost 30 years.

   "So what's the info?" asked Evan, sitting next to Katie. They pretended not to have a thing for each other, and all of the adults pretended not to notice

   "Councilor 12 is making an appearance to Earth." Everyone was silent. Everyone knew who Councilor 12 was.

   "We have to be there," stated Marco. "I mean, we can't let this opportunity pass." 

   "I agree," I said. "The only problem is, the appearance is in Toronto."

   It was a large stumbling block. We lived nowhere near Toronto.

   "We can't fly there on a plane," said Marco.  "The Yeerks will check every plane going from this part of the country to Toronto looking for a group matching our description. We'd be hauled off by airport security and draconed before we could say 'I swear I don't have a bomb!'"

   "We could fly there on a plane only part of the way," said Evan. He had inherited much of Marco's ability to strategize and see from A to B, if not much of his brilliance for jokes. "And in two, maybe three groups headed to different destinations, and then fly as birds the rest of the way. Would save us the problem of being tracked down by passport, too. But that's not the problem. The problem is security."

   I nodded. "Councilor 12 is very heavily guarded. We're going to need a lot of luck, and a lot of planning, people. Luckily, we have three months. Exactly three months from today, actually. So, I want everyone to think on it, tonight and tomorrow. Let's have a meeting here tomorrow, same time. Is that good for everyone?" Everyone looked around. It seemed fine.

   "See you tomorrow, then."

   Everyone stood up to leave, including Katie. "Can I hang out with Evan tonight, Dad?" she asked.

   I shook my head. "Not tonight, sweetie. It's a school night, and besides, we need to have a talk," I told her.

   "Ooooh, Katie's in trouble," said Marco slyly, as he and Evan left the house. "Good night!"

   Soon the house was empty, save the three of us. "What is it, Jake?" asked Cassie.

   "I think it's time we tell Katie about her brother," I said. Cassie looked at me, questionably, but she let me go on. "Katie, Thomas isn't dead."

   "What?" she asked, confused.

   Cassie picked up on the story. "When your brother was 5, we made a horrible discovery: he could morph. Apparently, differences in human genetics allow for the possibility that the child of two morph-capable people, such as your father and I, might be born morph capable. We were afraid. It was so soon after Rachel's capture, and we feared discovery around every corner."

   "We knew the Yeerks knew who we were, they just hadn't found us yet," I continued. "And we knew that Thomas was only a child, and no matter how much we told him to be careful, he would eventually reveal us." I saw tears in Cassie's eyes, and wasn't surprised to find some in my own. "So we told Erek our problem. He said the Chee could take him in, hide him until he was able to keep his secret, and then he would be returned to us."

   "We sacrificed one to save the whole," Cassie said, openly crying now, and Katie too. The Chee staged his death, and then took him with them. It was supposed to be only for a few years, but it's been 12 now, and he's still not back."

   "The reason we're telling you this," I explained, "is because when I talked to Erek tonight, he said Thomas is ready to come home to us."

Chapter 8- Evan

   A few weeks after her parents dropped the brother bomb on Kat, I trimmed my wings and glided over the woods that dotted the region around Kat's house. So, I said, conversationally, is it weird to think that your brother isn't dead? 

   Way weird, Kat replied, several hundred yards to the left and some distance above me. We were flying apart, because Ospreys and Cooper's hawks don't exactly chill together. But, then again, maybe it's kind of cool. I mean, when Thomas comes back, that'll be one more kid, and maybe Dad would let us do more, you know? 

   Maybe so, I replied. The folks didn't let us do a whole lot. Planning, voting on decisions, sure. But actual fighting? We got to do very little of that. Even when we did see an actual battle, we usually just flew surveillance and stuff.  If we could find Loren, then it'd be even better. 

   I knew Kat well enough to know that were we human, she would nod thoughtfully. Yeah, but we don't even know if Tobias lives around here. He could be anywhere. But, it would be nice, to have a younger group that's independent from the adults. I mean, our parents had already been fighting for three years when they were our age. 

   It's funny, I said, how even adults who fought an alien empire as teenagers will turn around and discount teens as nothing. 

   Let's just hope Thomas is cool, she said.

   True that, I agreed. 

   We flew over her house, and swooped into the barn to demorph. We landed in an empty horse stall, and began. Kat and I are definitely the worst morphers of the group, as we only have 3 years to our parents 27. Kat is not much of an improvement over me, even though her mom is totally awesome, the best of all of the adults.

   As I watched, tail feathers disappeared, and she grew taller, as her legs expanded. She was almost human-sized now, but featherless. Eew, I teased. I am never eating- I paused as my beak gave way to a mouth "-never eating chicken again."

   As we got close to finishing the demorph, I noticed that the distance between us, while suitable when we were birds, was pretty small when we were humans. In fact, we were pressed up against each other pretty closely.

   I blushed, and tried to move away from her, but my demorph wasn't yet complete, and I stumbled on legs didn't move right, pitching head first into the hay.

   "You okay?" she asked.

   I finished the demorph, and spit hay out of my mouth. "Nothing wounded by my dignity." I rolled over onto my back. She offered me a hand, and then froze. I looked at her questionably, and she put her finger to her lips. I listened. The barn door opened.

   "I can't believe I am at a fucking teacher's house on a fucking Saturday!" a girl's voice said.

   There was a guy's laugh. "Raven, just give me a second. I just have to pick up the backpack I accidentally left here when I was working last night, and then we'll go." It was Nathaniel, the guy who helped Kat's mom out in the barn.

   We both stood up in the stall, and peered over. The girl, Raven, was incredibly hot. She had a pretty face, medium-length blonde hair, and a model's body, but she still looked tough. Like she could beat me up on the slightest whim. And despite her good looks, I got the impression that we would not get along very well.

   She looked over at us, and scowled in distaste. "What are you two doing in there?" She noticed the hay in my hair, and smirked. "Oh." I felt my blush spreading. You see, I really liked Kat. _A lot_. As my best friend, but also, more.

   "Hi, Katie, " said Nathaniel. He was a pretty decent guy. "Hi, um…" he paused. "Evan?"

   "Hi," Kat said back. "So, uh, does Mom have you down to work today?"

   "Nope. I just forgot my backpack last night. Tell Cassie I'll be in tomorrow morning," he said, and smiled.

   "And tell Mr. E. I said to stick the essay he assigned up his ass," said Raven. I got the impression that Raven wasn't the world's most subtle person.

    They left the barn, and we were left in silence. "So, " I said. "Want to go play Tank Commando 6?"

   Kat grinned wide. "And totally defeat your sorry butt like last time?"

   "Whatever. I totally rule at Tank Commando!"

   "Yeah, right. You're so going down!" See why I like the girl?

Chapter 9-Nathaniel

   "Nathaniel, can you go get a big cage from the loft?" Cassie asked the day after we had run into Evan and Katie in the barn.

   "Of course," I answered.

   She smiled gratefully. "Thanks a lot. I'm really getting spoiled, having a strong guy like you around to do my dirty work."

   "It's my pleasure," I replied, and climbed up into the loft. Cassie-my mother, even though she didn't know it-and I were not getting along fabulously, just as I had hoped. 

   I climbed back down, struggling. It wasn't too heavy for me, but maneuvering down the ladder with a cage so large wasn't easy. "Thanks," she said. "Animal Control is bringing an injured wolf over later, and that's where he's going."

   I set it down. "Do you want to help me bandage this baldie?" she asked. 

   "Sure," I replied. Even though I was using the clinic as a way to get to know her better, I was sincerely interested in animal care, and she was teaching me a lot.

   "Hold the wing out, straight, like this," she demonstrated on the healthy wing. I stretched out the broken wing, and to my relief, the eagle stayed calm.

   She looked at me strangely. "The animals just take to you," she said as she did the bandaging. She then let go of the eagle, but I held on for a second, acquiring. I didn't have a good raptor morph, and here was my chance.

   "They do the same for you," I replied, dropping the wing.

   "Yes, but…" she paused for a moment. "It's really strange. You remind me so much of me."

   Was she figuring out who I was? I cleared my throat. "Thanks for the compliment."

   She shook her head, but only smiled. "Well, that's all the work I have for you now. The wolf will be coming in a bit, but I don't think you're really experienced enough yet to work with it when it first comes in. But if you come tomorrow after school, I'll show you some things, OK?"

   "Sure thing, Cassie. Thanks a lot."

   "No, it's me who should be grateful," she said. "You help me get a lot done. See you tomorrow."

   "Tomorrow," I agreed, and walked out of the barn. I walked down the road a little ways before ducking into the woods around the farm. I began to morph the bald eagle.

   The Chee say I have a talent for morphing. I've never seen anyone else morph before, so I wouldn't really know. I do know, however, that I have the ability to surpass the two-hour time limit, which is unusual. Whatever my limit is, I haven't found it yet, but I try to generally stick to two, just to be safe.

   I considered my morphing talent only a small compensation for not being raised by my parents. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate everything the Chee have done for me, and at times, when I was younger, I actually would wish I, too, was one of them, peaceable and immortal. They were a very good race of people, who had treated me with nothing but kindness. But androids can't really substitute for the real, human, thing, sometimes. 

   I flapped my wings, and flew toward home, a seemingly normal suburban house. I flew into the backyard, and tapped on the patio door.

   A man came to the back door, and opened it for me. "New morph, Nathaniel?" he asked.

   Yes, I replied. I acquired it at the barn today. 

   I fluttered to the kitchen, and began to demorph fluidly. He switched off his hologram, and stood before me. Erek, the Chee most reactionary and sympathetic to my parent's cause, was my main guardian.

   "You have one week to go," he said. "Are you excited?"

   "Excited and nervous, mostly," I replied.

   "Well, you'll have Socrates to keep you company," he said. Socrates was my dog. A Golden Retriever, in fact, whose name was, admittedly, inspired when I heard that my dad once had a dog named Homer. Unlike all of the other dogs in the Chee complex, he answered solely to me, and Erek had given me permission to take him with me.

   "One week," I repeated. "And then I go home."

See you next installment! Remember to read and review! The more reviews, the more I'm motivated to write!! And also, if there's something you don't like about the way the story is going, the characters, any thing like that, please tell me so I can improve on it in future chapters. 


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